Much like us, Empty Netter reader Elizabeth Krenzelok made the trip to Columbus, Ohio this past weekend for the NHL draft. Unlike us she appears to have a life and had reasons in addition to the draft to be in Columbus. She shared her observations with us:
"After getting to Columbus on Tuesday night for my freshman orientation at Ohio State on Wednesday and Thursday, I was more than ready for the NHL Draft. I had, after all, planned my orientation dates around the draft!
Friday
3:40 p.m.: After donning my new Jordan Staal jersey (bought with graduation money), I leave my sister's apartment and she drives me to Nationwide Arena.
4:00: I reach Nationwide Arena and say goodbye to my sister, who will come down later with her boyfriend (who I have named The Child due to an age gap between my sister and him).
4:30: I get my picture taken with the Stanley Cup!!!! Amazing!!!
4:35: I receive a call from my dad and he tells me that Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi have been re-signed. I immediately cheer and jump up and down. People around me think I'm having a seizure.
4:39: I find Penguins fans and yell the good news. They also yell and high fives go all around.
4:45: I find more Pens fans outside and tell them the news. High fives go all around, and a long conversation ensues. I end up yelling the news to every Pens fan I see for the next hour (about forty people), and cheers erupt each time.
5:00: I ditch the Boston Bruins fan that I talked to in the Stanley Cup line (who ended up following me around) and curse myself for being too nice.
5:15: After listening to Yellowcard for ten minutes and deciding they weren't my thing, I go back into the arena to check out the NHL trophies which were pretty cool. I even found where Sidney Crosby's name was going to be placed on all the trophies. I also see eventual Flyers draft pick James vanRiemsdyk walk into the arena.
6:20: After striking up a conversation with some nice Blue Jackets fans, I head to my seat in the upper bowl (right near a group of Penguins fans), and save two for my sister, Ann and the Child.
6:35: I discover that the Penguins fans I'm sitting next to are the "Army's Pit" sign guys, and we talk about Colby for a little bit, as well as other Penguins topics.
7:05: As the draft is about to begin, a Nashville Predators fan and his dad sit down on the other side of me. Instead of leaving one seat open between us, he sits down right next to me. I decide he might be trouble.
7:15: I boo Gary Bettman as loud as humanly possible when he gets to the podium.
7:20ish: As the Flyers go on the clock, I join in a "Go home, Flyers!" chant with the "Army's Pit" boys. Booing the Flyers never gets old.
7:35ish: I give Wayne Gretzky a standing ovation and clap loudly, but I do yell, "Lemieux is better!" Preds boy next to me decides to ask me why. My response: "I'm from Pittsburgh. And had he been healthy his whole career and not had to battle for his life, he would hold all the records Crosby has a chance at breaking."
7:37: This leads into a Sidney Crosby conversation, and it is obvious Preds boy doesn't know a ton about the Pens. But, the feeling's mutual because I don't know a lot about the Preds, besides the fact that Paul Kariya plays for them, and that Paul Kariya was in "D3: The Mighty Ducks."
7:50: I once again decide I'm too nice as Preds boy begins to touch my shoulder as we talk. One word: gross.
8:00ish: The Blue Jackets fans cheer as their team selects Jakub Voracek, and they all leave. Since I'm in the upper bowl, I really want closer seats, and I pretend to get a text from my sister, and leave Preds boy and his father. As Preds boy says to make sure to come back, I almost vomit.
8:08: I get better seats in the lower bowl, and wait for Ann and the Child to reach the arena, because they have called and warned me of their imminent arrival.
8:20: Ann and the Child find me in section 111. They sit down with me and we talk about the draft. It turns out the Child cheers for the Red Wings. He immediately goes down a couple notches in my book.
8:45: I go get some food for Ann, the Child, and myself and believe I spot Empty Netters but cannot stop to talk because of the food in my hands.
9:00: We make fun of the Rangers draft pick, Alexei Cherepanov, because of his awful hair. Ann and the Child tell me to take a picture, which I do.
9:02: The Child decides that the North Stars fan in front of us has been too cheap all these years to buy a new jersey.
9:05: We suddenly start talking about "Slap Shot," and it turns out it is a movie the Child loves. As the Child and I say lines from our favorite scene, Ann loses it as we continually quote it over and over again. The Child goes up a couple of notches in my book.
9:11: The Child, Ann, and I are on the big screen. Pretty exciting!
9:15ish: The Penguins go on the clock, and I clap and cheer. I also scream "Go Pens!" As Ray Shero announces we got Angelo Esposito, I cheer and yell because I know we got a great pick, and I'm excited.
9:30: Seeing as to the fact that all of us attend Ohio State, we boo when the Wolverines fan pops up on the big screen. We immediately start singing the following Ohio State classics: "We Don't Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan" and alternative (and dirty) lyrics to "Hail to the Victors."
9:50: We decide to leave the draft after the Canucks pick, because we all want to watch "Slap Shot." We head back to my sister's apartment and watch the movie.
Saturday
8:00 a.m.: I wake up and get ready for another day at the draft.
9:00: I reach the draft and see more Pens fans and we cheer.
9:50: After wandering around the arena and looking at the trophies again, I go to seats in the lower bowl about fifteen rows up from the media.
10:00: The draft is about to start, and I want to move down, but decide not to because Preds boy is only a few rows in front of me.
10:20: I see Mike Lange walk in, and a Pens fan near me yells, "He shoots and scores!" Lange waves.
10:40ish: After the Pens pick up Keven Veilleux, I see from my seats that it looks like Veilleux doesn't know English, and is using assistant coach Andre Savard as a translator while talking with Frank Buonomo, Team Services director.
10:45: I strike up a conversation with a man and a woman behind me with their son after they arrive, and they're Caps fans. It turns the lady was born and raised in Pittsburgh, but now lives near Washington, D.C. She went to the Penguins 1992 Stanley Cup parade, so I decide she's okay.
11:00: The third round starts and the draft is starting to get boring. I spot an Ogie Ogelthorpe jersey and laugh really hard, and say "Ogiltorpe?" in my head.
11:05: After talking to my dad on the phone, I learn that I do indeed have to take the Greyhound home. I decide to take the 2:00 bus, because the next bus would get me in after dark. I don't want to be next to the jail after dark.
11:25ish: The Penguins select Robert Bortuzzo and I cheer. I look in my hockey draft magazine and find out he's huge.
11:30: We draft Casey Pierro-Zabotel and I cheer again.
11:50ish: The 4th round starts, and I watch the first few picks before leaving.
12:15 p.m.: I pack up my things and start to fear for my life.
1:00: I bid the Child farewell and my sister and I head to the station.
1:35: After buying my ticket, I take a seat and find out my bus is delayed.
2:00: My sister leaves me alone and I pull my bags closer to me. I'm mentally making a list of who not to sit next to on the bus.
2:30: Even though my bus was supposed to be delayed longer, we miraculously start boarding. I decide to take a seat next to a man in a Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh hat and t-shirt. The Amish boy I saw in our line and had planned to sit next to turned out to not be riding my bus.
2:45: We leave the station and I talk quite a bit with the man next to me.
4:00: We stop in Cambridge, Ohio, at a McDonald's, but I will not leave the bus.
6:00: We pass Southpointe and mentally cheer because I know I won't die.
6:10: As we pass the Bridgeville exit, I'm tempted to ask if the bus driver could just let me off here, since it technically was my exit.
6:30: We reach the Greyhound station next to the jail, and my dad takes a picture of me with his phone because he thinks the whole thing is funny. I give him the Look of Death and tell him never again.
7:00: I reach home and decide that I had a lot of fun, even though the Greyhound experience put a little damper on the event.
EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS
We discussed the draft in a podcast with online sports editor Dan Gigler.
The Penguins have a player in their system named Chad Johnson. That's absolutely awesome to us. Well "Ocho-Cinco" is one of the many Penguins prospects attending a rookie camp.
The Penguins set a record for full season ticket sales. They want to keep seats available for six- and 12-game plans, individual game tickets and student rush sales.
We've been critical of the Penguins for how they handled their ticket sales this spring, but we have to give them a thumbs up for making this move.
Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato is trying to get a slots-related bill through the state legislature before they all go on summer vacation.
Sidney Crosby is up for an ESPY. Click here and scroll down to "BEST NHL PLAYER" to vote for Crosby if you like. In other news, ESPN still covers hockey.
Remember William "Boots" Del Biaggio? He was going to buy the Penguins way back in the day. Well it looks he's now going to be buying the Nashville Predators and moving them to Kansas City. Would be Predators owner Jim Balsillie is left out in the cold.
Donald Fehr, head of the Major League Baseball Players Association gave some advice to the NHLPA on how to ruin their sport.
Soccer gets better television ratings than hockey.
Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur quits the NHL's competition committee.
It looks like the Sabres made an offer to center Daniel Briere.
The Hurricanes appear to be trying to pull off a trade with the Flyers for Joni Pitkanen.
Josef Stumpel, who used to be a guy connected to Penguins in offseason rumors, re-signs with the Panthers.
Defenseman Nick Boynton and forward Kevyn Adams of the Coyotes cleared waivers.
Forward Jeff Cowan, who had a bra thrown at him during a game last seasons, re-signs with the Canucks.
EVGENI MALKIN'S SUMMER HAS BEEN MORE EVENTFUL THAN YOURS
Evgeni Malkin laughs at how boring your summer is.
EN's best fan in Kazakhstan, Bolatbek Zhainazarov, found an item about Evgeni Malkin from what looks like a Russian celebrity gossip Web site. Bolatbek even offered a translation:
"Evgeni Malkin found himself a bride
June 1, 2007
It looks like a 20-year old hockey player Evgeni Malkin, a forward of an NHL club Pittsburgh Penguins, has decided to get married. At least that's how the rumor has it in his native town of Magnitogorsk. His girl-friend is a 24-year old Oksana Kondakova who is at present divorcing her current husband.
The famous hockey player came to his native town from America during the off-season. They say, he wanted to see his girl-friend really bad. A Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent found out who the girl is.
A 24-year old Oksana works as an administrative assistant at a construction company. It is also known that she is in the process of divorcing her current husband, a well-known local businessman. She met (Malkin) when he was playing for the Russian national squad. They met in a night club called The Pyramid. When Malkin left for America causing one of the biggest scandals in hockey in the past few years, Oksana waited for him for nine months. The love-birds would stay in touch constantly writing emails and calling each other.
They say that Malkin is pretty serious about his plans. Soon the couple is going to Paris. Who knows may be a trip to the French capital is a wedding present...
When asked if Zhenya had already proposed, Oksana answered that she would give all details only after her divorce is finalized."
This is a rough translation of the page.
EN-So to recap Evgeni Malkin's off-season:
He won a bronze medal in the IIHF World Championships in Russia
In that same tournament, he scored a goal against the Czech Republic and showboated in front of their bench.
He also took a puck in the face during the bronze medal game.
He allowed a friend to wreck his car.
He failed to show up to the NHL awards show where he won the Calder Trophy.
And now he's trying to wed a woman four years older than him who is already married.
And we thought we had a busy summer.
First Published: June 28, 2007, 9:30 p.m.
